Toshiba isn't standing still when it comes to the
development of HD DVD players. The company announced today that it has revamped
its entry-level, mid-range and high-end players and that all three will retail
for under $500.

"With a majority market share in unit sales of next
generation DVD players, consumers are speaking loud and clear, and they are
adopting HD DVD as their HD movie format of choice," said Jodi Sally, VP
of Marketing for Toshiba's Digital A/V Group. "Because of the proven manufacturing
efficiencies of the HD DVD format, Toshiba can bring this level of innovation
in technology to a new generation of players with cutting-edge functionality at
affordable prices."

The first new model is the entry-level HD-A3. Toshiba didn't
divulge many details on the HD-A3 other than the fact that it features 1080i
output. The mid-range HD-A30 adds support for 1080p output along with what
Toshiba calls "CE-Link" or HDMI-CEC. CE-Link allows for a two-way
connection between the HD DVD player and TV over HMDI.

The high-end HD-A35 also features 1080p support and CE-Link,
but also adds support for Deep Color over HDMI, 5.1 channel analog audio output
and High Bit Rate 7.1 Audio over HDMI.

All three players feature a slimmer exterior design with
rounded edges and a high-gloss black finish. According to Toshiba, the third
generation players are half as tall as the first generation units.

Toshiba's HD-A30 will be available in September at a price
of $399.99. The HD-A3 and HD-A35 will be available in October with price tags
of $299.99 and $499.99 respectively.

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This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

Only the high-end has analog outputs for 5.1 (aka direct to the speakers). I assume that the other players have Optical or Coax digital connections to go along with the HDMI connection for 7.1 Dolby Digital e-penis extender or whatever.

"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer